Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Thank you Sue. Let me just say that 90 years ago, in 1920, workers were about the business of building
this Union Depot for the first time. 90 Years later, we have American workers back at it,
rebuilding it to the grandeur that it will have again when it’s the center for Amtrak
service, for light rail service, for connecting bus service. These are the projects that create
jobs now but improve the quality of life for all the people of the Twin Cities and the
surrounding areas, the State of Minnesota and the nation for generations to come. And
that’s what the American Jobs Act is about. It’s not just about putting people to work
now, it’s about putting them to work on projects that are going to improve the quality
of life for all of us for a great many years ahead. These are the kind of projects that need to
not just replicate, but accelerate all across the country through the American Jobs Act,
and that’s why Congress needs to pass it now.
One of the things that has been the hallmark of this area, one of the reasons why Secretary
LaHood and I and all of our partners at the USDOT really like to be partners in this region
is because the elected officials, state, local, congressional, put aside their differences
and see to it that a big vision, like the restoration of the Union Depot, could get
funded and move forward. They don’t get bogged down in regional fights, they don’t
get bogged down in partisan fights, or if they have them, they get past them and move
on for the betterment of all the people. Well, your vision is President Obama’s vision.
That’s precisely what he’s asking Congress to do in passing the American Jobs Act. As
the Secretary said, there are no Democratic or Republican roads or transit systems or
railroads, there are roads and transit systems that serve the American people just like this
one will. So it’s time to put aside all of the partisan bickering and pass the American
Jobs Act now. Let me just say, in one other item that I
think is also important. The American Jobs Act is not just about funding projects like
this, we need to put more Americans back to work, but there are important elements of
the American Jobs Act that give workers a much needed break. The average American family
will see a tax reduction of $1500 if we pass the American Jobs Act and that tax reduction,
as Secretary LaHood said, would be paid for and not be loaded on the deficit. That’s
$1500 in the hands of American families that can be used to buy school clothes, school
supplies, car payments, groceries, the kind of spending that regenerates through our economy
and puts more people back to work. All along the Central Corridor we have small
businesses. Some of those small businesses, we know, are struggling through this construction
period. But, importantly, there’s tax assistance for small businesses in the American Jobs
Act, tax assistance that’s going to allow them to hire more workers and grow with the
recovery of this country. So, Congress needs to get past its partisan differences, it needs
to pass this to create jobs, it needs to pass this it to give American workers a well needed
break. Thanks very much.